Rebecah's Birthday and Baptism

Rebecah turned 8 on January 7th.  It was a big day for her since she was baptized on her birthday.   Since her birthday was on Fast Sunday and she was going to start fasting we decided to have her birthday breakfast a day early and then things just evolved and we celebrated a day early. 

For the 5th year in a row Rebecah chose to have cheese danish for breakfast.  She loves it!

Rebecah decided that since it was her birthday she would spend the day in her pajamas.  We almost always get dressed every day so a pajama day was a big deal for her.  Since Rebecah was in her pajamas Lincoln and Annika followed suit.

For her birthday treat Rebecah wanted "dirt" with plenty of gummy worms.  In the picture above Rebecah has a fat lip.  She was playing with Lincoln and Annika and had a blanket over her head pretending.  Good brother that he is, Kimball ran into the room and tackled Rebecah and she cut the inside of her mouth.  It looked painful.

I love our Primary Leaders.  They frequently send me pictures when my kids are dancing cupcakes.  The birthday child can pick friends to dance with them while the rest of the Primary sings to them.  I thought it was sweet that Rebecah picked her siblings.  Kimball didn't want to participate so Rebecah chose a friend.

Baptism Day

Opening baptism presents...Scriptures, True to the Faith book,

 journal and a baptism scrapbook.

I learned a lot when Kimball was baptized...Kimball's baptism was a little stressful trying to get everything organized, plus we had my mom skype in for the baptismal service and I was the other speaker so it was a lot to do.  This time around I simplified and it was a wonderful service.  I organized it, but I didn't take a direct role in the program.  There were about 50 people in attendance and it made Rebecah and our family feel very loved.  

I made a variety of sweet breads for the refreshments and they were a hit.  We also had citrus punch.

The baptism service was at 6:00 in the evening.  We ate dinner at the church and the kids loved it.  It enabled us to fill the baptismal font without being rushed.  We took pictures and we were all ready for the baptism 30 minutes early.  We sure love our Rebecah and the choice she made to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  She asked her piano teacher and Grandma Bev to speak at her baptism and I thought it was sweet she included these wonderful ladies.  

Christmas 2017

We had a wonderful Christmas this year.  Christmas Eve was my favorite day because it felt so magical.  We only had an hour of church, Sacrament Meeting, but it was wonderful.  There was beautiful music and nice messages.  Kimball and Joseph played their respective instruments during the meeting and Rebecah was asked to share a short talk on what Jesus has given her and what she will give to Jesus.  I think we sometimes sing the Christmas hymns without really taking the time to ponder the words of the songs.  As I thought about the words as we were singing I could no longer sing.  We are so blessed to have a Savior who loves us enough to come to earth as a baby and atoned for our sins as an adult.

After church we made some deliveries to a refugee family in our area and to some single men from church.  These little acts of service were a wonderful way to start our Christmas Eve celebration after church.

Knowing the kids were very excited about Christmas with a long Sunday afternoon ahead of them we planned some special activities.

We made slime as a family.  Last year the fad was fidget spinners and this year it's slime.  I don't get it, but my kids loved making and then playing with the slime.  

The second family activity that we enjoyed was decorating gingerbread houses.  It was so much fun!!  We don't decorate gingerbread houses every year, but I think we might make it a tradition because it was a lot more enjoyable than carving pumpkins at Halloween time.  We bought a kit with four little houses which was perfect so the kids could each decorate one.  I figured the kit was the way to go so I didn't have to spend a lot of money buying bags of candy for the houses when we only need a small amount from each bag of candy.  Lincoln didn't want to decorate his house so he let me do it.  Next year when we decorate I'll have to use the tips I learned from Mary Barry from the Great British Bake Off so our houses look even better!

Rebecah's house.

The finished village.

We also read some stories.

In the evening we had our traditional dinner with cheese, crackers, meats, and fruits and veggies.  It's such a yummy meal.  We had the sister missionaries over to celebrate with us.  We acted out the Nativity as we read the Christmas story from the Bible.  Rebecah was very disappointed this year because I told her it was Annika's turn to be Mary.  

Our cute little Mary who insisted on dressing in Egyptian costume.

Kimball wanted to be the donkey this year!

Please note we had a lion and bear as part of our Nativity this year.  

I know it's only food, but I love having a variety of treats during the month of December.  I know I could make these treats all year long, but I keep them special and make them only at Christmas time.

Christmas morning we got up around 7:00.  Edie was sick so we didn't wake her up.  She ended up sleeping 13 1/2 hours and didn't care about Christmas at all.  I think she happily let Lincoln open her presents. 

I didn't take many pictures opening presents.  Taking pictures tends to get forgotten about in the excitement, but I did get one picture of each of the 4 oldest with a present that they were excited about.

Christmas dinner was simple but colorful.  (Colorful meals make me happy!)  I didn't want a lot of extra work in the kitchen and no one seemed to mind that it was simple.

December Events

The end of December and the beginning of January have been so wonderfully busy!  We had a great month celebrating the birth of our Savior during the weeks leading up to Christmas.  Here are some of the highlights from our month:

This sweet lass is now 14 months old.  She is crawling, cruising and sweet as can be.  This month she became very aware of strangers and anyone who isn't family.  Separation anxiety usually started with our other kids much earlier, but it's now a real thing for Edie.

We had our first snow fall.  School was delayed 2 hours one day and canceled another day. The kids love the snow.  The first day Annika only lasted about 5 minutes, but the other times she stayed out longer.  Lincoln loves to be out in the snow and it takes a lot for him to decide he is "done".

Fun around the Carrom board.

Edie and all of the "guys". 

Shepherd Lincoln with his favorite blanket.  Sadly, I had to take it away again because he was sucking on it more than ever.  

I love this drift wood nativity.  We went to an Interfaith Nativity display and it was wonderful!  I loved all of the nativities and it really helped me feel the Spirit of Christmas.

Snuggling.

 

We made all sorts of Christmas treats this month.  The little ones were always eager to help.  I made my Grandpa's peanut brittle recipe for the first time.  It turned out so well.  I will definitely make it every year we loved it so much.  I took some to Grandma Bev and she and her daughter loved it too.  I ended up making a batch just for them.  I think I made 3 batches of peanut brittle within 3 weeks.  

We found out that our dear Grandma Bev has colon cancer.  She is still meeting with doctors and doesn't know the prognosis yet.  I hope she still has many years to be a loving influence for my kids.

I just love how she is content with the simplest things.  She really warms my heart.

With the first snow fall came the first snow fort!  Joseph tweaks his building technique every year and this year he developed a good system.  He spends hours outside working on his creations.

If you look closely you can see "Coffey" on the door frame.

The kids had holiday concerts and recitals this month.  Rebecah had her first piano recital and played "The First Noel" and "Angels We Have Heard on High".  She did very well.  She is so diligent in her practicing.  She was a little nervous, but also very excited.  

Kimball had a holiday orchestra concert at school.  We took video, but forgot to take a picture.  Oops.  The concert was much better than I was expecting and the little ones sat there quietly which helped, too.  Kimball played his cello along with 2 other cellists and Joseph on the violin during our church service on Christmas Eve.  

With the snow comes ski season.  Joseph bought a season pass months ago when it was half price and has already gone multiple times.  

On December 23rd we went as a family to the Joseph Smith Farm in Palmyra, NY to honor and celebrate Joseph Smith's birthday.  It started off raining, but as we walked from the Visitor's Center to the Log Cabin it started snowing.  It was beautiful and truly a wonderful experience.  As we talked with the missionaries in the log cabin I really felt the spirit and Kimball later admitted that he did, too.

Outside the Joseph Smith Log Cabin.

November

Our November was filled with a lot of little moments.  I don't feel like I took pictures of a lot of our activities.  To start off November we had a small party to celebrate all things pumpkin.  We had various pumpkin foods and enjoyed spending time with some of our friends from church and school. 

Edie with her friend at our Pumpkin Appreciation Night

The big kids wanted to have the little ones "sleep over" in their rooms so on the weekend Lincoln and Annika would sleep in Kimball's and Rebecah's rooms.  Here Annika and Rebecah are looking at books together on Annika's bed.

Edie had some big moments this month.  She finally transitioned to a cup so she is no longer nursing.  She also now pulls to a stand and started crawling!  I know those really aren't big accomplishments, especially when you are 13 months, but she finally has interest in being more mobile.  She'll walk here eventually, maybe by the time she is 18 months?  Look at her sweet face, don't you just love her?

We had a nice Thanksgiving.  Joseph was on call Thursday and Friday, but he lucked out and he was able to answer pages from home and didn't have to go in to the hospital at all.  It helped that the Orthopedic doctor who was on call wasn't a doctor in the SOS practice. 

I forgot to take pictures on Thanksgiving, aside from the above 2.  The pie is my first, and probably only, apple pie.  I promised Joseph last year if I got new pie plates I would make him an apple pie for Thanksgiving.  I really don't understand the appeal of an apple pie.  I know I used a tried and true recipe, but it just tasted mediocre to me.  There are so many other pies out there that taste SO MUCH BETTER!  Joseph said it was a good pie, but the caramel pecan pie and the pumpkin pie with the gingersnap crust were both eaten long before the apple pie.  

The other picture is Kimball eating his turkey leg.  He really wanted a turkey leg so we humored him.  And just for the record, that was a turkey leg from our 27.82 pound turkey.  I always buy the biggest bird I can find and this year I found a big one.  It didn't seem like there was that much more meat compared to my usual 22 lb turkey so I probably won't worry about getting such a big bird next year.

I told Lincoln to pose for a picture so he quickly stuck his pretzel rod in his mouth!  

Edie loves to swing so she still uses the baby swing sometimes.  Annika and Lincoln enjoy swinging in it too.  I figure the weight limit on the swing is probably 30 lbs so I let them swing, too since they are under that limit.

 Ever since we moved to Syracuse--5 years ago--Joseph has been encouraging--bugging--me to take some adult education cooking classes.  Not because I need the extra help but because he knows I would enjoy it.  I signed up for 3 classes and my first class, in October, was cancelled due to low enrollment, but in November I went to my Mexican cooking class.  I took Grandma Bev with me because this kind of thing is always more fun with a friend.  We had a great time even though we didn't really learn anything new.  We made dishes we hadn't made before, but we just followed the recipes.  My last class is in February and it will be French food.

Churros that I made and fried.

We made rice, fish tacos, chicken enchiladas with a green chili sauce, cheese stuffed poblano peppers, and churros.  It was all really good.  I love spicy food!

Grandma Bev and me in the kitchen.

This last picture shows how much mischief two little ones can make in a matter of minutes.  I had just checked on them and the next thing I hear is "It's snowing, it's snowing!" and we suddenly had styrofoam "snow" all over the floor.